Age Concern launches HaveAHeart campaign
MORE friends make for a happier life – and Age Concern Guernsey has launched a new fundraiser to ensure the island’s older generation has enough opportunities to socialise, laugh and get information on important topics.
Leaflets are being delivered to Guernsey homes this week for the HaveAHeartGSY initiative, marking the first time that there has been a fundraising week dedicated to the older generation.
David Inglis, chairman of Age Concern Guernsey, said the charity wanted to ensure that old age is celebrated and better represented.
‘We know looking forward to weekly meetings, playing cards, bingo, raffles and keeping in contact with friends bring lots of benefits to our wellbeing.
‘Having the opportunity to
express views on important topics like Covid-19, GST and fuel
costs also adds interest to our meetings.
‘The centres are very busy and our fleet of five buses with volunteer drivers are shuttling members from their homes around the island to the four meeting venues every week.’
The registered charity is run by volunteers and relies entirely on donations.
More than 230 individuals are supported in different ways, and with people living longer, the charity is glad there will be continued demand.
While services are not currently at risk, Age Concern's running costs over the last three years have exceeded income and therefore HaveAHeartGSY is part of a re-evaluation for the future.
Mr Inglis said the community had been through a lot in the last 18 months and that it was vital to look after one another.
‘It is an important time to be helping older adults, supporting and representing them in all the ways necessary to ensure that our island is thinking about them and planning with them positively in mind.
‘As part of our responsible management of such a well-known local charity we will bring
HaveAHeart back to the community every year.
‘We need to run it so we can keep going with everything we currently do and work on new and relevant ideas for the future using the donations we receive.
‘HaveAHeart is here to ask for your help to support and celebrate the older generation and so we can all look forward to a better old age locally.’
Many today may hold a romantic and expansive vision of retirement, but the current generation of pensioners were told that the States pension would be sufficient for them, and many do find that it is barely enough to live on week-by-week.
Becoming a member of Age Concern Guernsey costs only £5 a year and Mr Inglis said it is the social aspect that people enjoy the most.
‘We have people who don’t talk to anyone for a week until they come along to one of our sessions, and they’re very hardy people, they wouldn’t admit that something was missing.
‘We do have some members who go to several of the centres just to enjoy socialising in other areas of the island.'
